Captain’s log, supplemental, Captain Amanda McCoy reporting: having docked at Starbase 506 in order to take on supplies and new personnel to prepare to do a series of in-depth scientific studies of newly discovered planetary systems, my first officer Commander Trevor Stevens, and I have interviewed Commander James Troi, who has agreed to take on the the position of ship’s counselor and chief science officer and discovered that he is old friends with my chief medical officer, Dr. Aquina Altara. This should prove to be helpful to our new ship’s counselor, given the unique nature of our ship and crew. So I have invited the doctor to have lunch with Commander Stevens, Commander Troi and myself; McCoy out.

“I have wanted to try this cafe for quite some time” said Amanda, “since they offer excellent Klingon cuisine, but I won’t order gagh, I promise.”

“Don’t abstain on my account, Captain,” James smirked, “You’re the one who has to eat it, not me.”

“Counselor,” said Amanda, “I do believe this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

Amanda sensed James’ mind shift uneasily, “What is it, Counselor?”

She sensed his mind stiffen further, “It’s nothing, Captain.”

“Counselor,” said Amanda sternly, “Don’t give me that. I’m not that telepathic, but even I can tell you’re uncomfortable and that’s the last thing I need in a ship’s counselor. If we are going to work together, I need your honesty. If I can’t get honestyfrom a Vulcan, where else am I going to get it from?”

Troi sighed and said, “It’s the title, Captain.”

“What, ‘Counselor?’” she asked.

“Yes, Captain,” he admitted, “Even my rank creates issues. It comes from sharing the same position, rank and last name as my cousin, Deanna Troi. It has caused no end of confusion and the jokes-you have no idea how many times I have been asked ‘Where is your bun, Counselor?’ and she only wore her hair like that for a year!”

“Oh, yes,” agreed Dr. Altara, frowning, “Some of the teasing was brutal. James and I were the only Vulcan hybrids at Starfleet Medical, so we tended to stick together and you should have heard what folks made of that with him being one and half feet taller than I!”

“Remember, ‘There goes the tall and the short of it,’ Aquina?” asked James.

“And don’t forget, ‘Peter Pan and Tinkerbell,’” said Aquina, “Of course they would ask me where my wings were. I’ll admit that the fact that I look like an overgrown fairy doesn’t help, but James always stood up for me, like a little sister—a very little sister. So the least we can do is to try to give him a little dignity.”

“So, what should I call you, Commander?” asked Amanda with gentle concern.

“Hm,” said James, “You have given me reason for pause. No one picked up my discomfort, before, Captain.”

“Well,” Amanda smiled, “I am not completely boorish. I do come from a line of doctors. I learned to take care of people in my command. How about ‘Doctor Troi‘? I imagine you have a Ph.D.”

“Several, Captain,” nodded James, “but so does my cousin.”

“Boy,” said Dr. Altara, “and did those degrees come in handy trying to make sense of my genetics, but that’s a story that will have to wait for another time.”

“I know!” Amanda brightened, “My Great-grandfather Spock went by ‘Mister’ most of the time. How does ‘Mr. Troi‘ sound?”

A broad grin spread over James’ face, “‘Mr. Troi,’ I like the sound of that.”

“Then it’s settled, Mr. Troi,” said Amanda firmly, “It even fits with the fact that you are our science officer.”

As the four came up to the door of the café, a six foot tall female Klingon wearing a Starfleet lieutenant’s uniform with a gold collar approached the captain. She had a much darker complexion and heavier cranial ridges than the captain. She wore her tightly kinky hair in one long loose braid down her back. Counselor Troi noted that the young Klingon looked at Captain McCoy with a healthy respect.

“Captain,” she curtly nodded, “may I join you for lunch?”

“Of course, Kahra,” said McCoy, “It is a pity to enjoy fresh gagh alone. It will give you a chance to become acquainted with Mr. Troi, our new ship’s counselor and chief science officer. Mr. Troi, this is Lieutenant Kahra, my chief tactical officer.”

“I am pleased to meet you, Lieutenant,” said Mr. Troi, who offered his hand which Kahra shook firmly, “A Klingon tactical officer is a good, strong choice, Captain. It shows you are not afraid of being challenged.”

Kahra eyed James and said, “I only tried that once, Sir, and the captain beat me soundly!”

“Excuse me,” James’ eyebrow nearly touched his dark hairline, “She beat you, at what, chess!?”

“No, Sir, it was in non-lethal hand-to-hand combat,” Kahra shook her head, “I had made some, shall we say, disrespectful remarks about the captain’s Romulan blood, which she treated as a challenge to her authority and honor.”

“Frankly, I was not offended by her remarks,” said Amanda, “but I knew if I ‘let the matter go,’ she would never have respected me as her commanding officer. On a Klingon ship I would have been obligated to kill her, as we both knew. Instead, I challenged her to a martial arts match on the holodeck with Commander Stevens as our witness. I must say I had to bring my best effort.”

“But it was over in less than a minute,” said Trevor, “Kahra gave her best, though.”

“I simply could not overcome the captain’s superior strength,” Kahra shook her head, “not to mention her uncanny ability to anticipate my next move. She could have easily killed me.”

“True,” smiled her captain, “but imagine having to explain that in my log.”

“Yes,” Dr. Altara interjected, “and if there is anything the captain detests, its paperwork, the less she has to produce, the better!”

“Now the lieutenant and I get along just fine,” smiled Amanda, “We even bunk together, space being a premium aboard ship, since we need so much room for equipment and memory storage.”

“An interesting sleeping arrangement to be sure,” James mused.

“Well, we have less than a handful of family quarters, and only couples, no children,” explained Amanda, “Everyone else has to double or triple up.”

“And as I am sure you recall, I came from an ice world” said Dr. Altara, “So the captain and I would not be a good fit, environmentally speaking.”

“The Asimov is so small, we don’t even have a decent galley,” said Kahra, “So we have to make do with replicated food, which doesn’t do Klingon food justice. So I have been looking forward to our stopover. I am still determined to master eating gagh with those earther things called ‘chopsticks’ as the captain has.”

James looked puzzled, “Do not Klingons usually eat gagh with their hands?”

“True, but where is the challenge in that?” Amanda smiled.

At that moment, a male human lieutenant, junior grade, who also wore a gold collar, came up to the captain. At five foot five, only Dr. Altara was shorter than him. James noticed that Kahra visibly stiffened and looked at the thin, wiry young man with slightly disheveled dirty reddish blond hair with veiled disdain. Although he faced his captain, his eyes glanced at Kahra from time to time.

“Y’all gettin‘ ready te eat, Cap’n?” he smiled eagerly.

“Yes, Lieutenant” said Amanda, “but surely you are not done downloading the Asimov‘s scientific data into the starbase‘ memory core to prepare the ship’s for departure.”

“Wall, ma’am, Commander Gallagar, he jus‘ scooted me out there like I wuz a fox in a henhouse,” explained Twig, “He said he could finish up hisself, said he hankered sum quiet. But I’m tellin‘ you, Cap’n, I wuz bein‘ quiet like.”

The captain noticed that James perked up at the mention of the name “Gallagar,” but he said nothing. She then softly sighed, “You must remember, Lieutenant, the commander was referring to your thoughts and emotions. You do not realize how noisy your mind is.”

“Absolutely,” agreed Aquina, “I am sorry to say this, but at times I feel like I need the mental equivalent of earplugs.”

“Ma’am, I cain’t control my thoughts like that,” said Twig, “I ain’t no Vulcan.”

“Commander Gallagar knows this, which is why he dismissed you early. However, perhaps you could learn some thought control techniques from Mr. Troi,” the doctor pointed to her friend, “He is our new ship’s counselor and chief science officer. James, this is Lieutenant Clyde Twig.”

“A Vulcan ship’s counselor, wall butter ma head and call me a biscuit, Counselor,” said Twig, “Now I have heerd of everything!”

“I am also half Betazoid, Lieutenant, and please, address me as Mr. Troi” he said calmly, looking at the captain with satisfaction.

“Oh, wall, Mr. Troi. Commander Gallagar will be happy to hear that!” said Twig, grinning, “Our old ship’s counselor was only human and Commander Gallagar is half human and half Betazoid. Now he’s our chief engineer, but when the cap’n wuz needin‘ some super senseetive deeplomatic stuff done, sometime’ she would ask the commander to hep‘. He’d do it, but he wadden’t too keen on it, so he’ll be as happy as a hog in slop to know you’re on board. But don’t ya’ll go lookin‘ in my head, now. Them thoughts is my own.”

“Of course, Lieutenant,” said James, “However, you must be aware that as the captain and doctor said, you have a very noisy mind and tend to ‘shout’ your thoughts, from a telepathic point of view. However, I could teach you to control the ‘volume’ of your thoughts”

“So the doc means you could teach me te whisper-like my thankin‘?” said Twig, his eyes wide with interest and wonder.

“That is what I said, Lieutenant,” said James, smirking.

“Wall,” said Twig, rubbing his hands together, “eenuf shop tawlk. Let’s get sum grub, maybe them gagh, ya’ll talk ’bout!”

Amanda suppressed a smile and said as seriously as she could, “Do you know what gagh is, Lieutenant?”

“No, but I figur‘ if ets good enuff fer ya’ll,” Twig smiled, “it must be good eatin‘!”

“Do they serve non-Klingon food?” asked Trevor, “You know Klingon food doesn’t agree with me, Captain.”

“It can be downright argumentative,” smiled Amanda, “and yes, I understand they do serve Terran foods.”

“Goodness knows Trevor prefers food that doesn’t fight back,” giggled Dr. Altara.

The six of them filed into the café and Stevens went up to the hostess’ station and said, “Table for six, fireside,” and looking back at Amanda, turned back and asked, “Is the gagh fresh, today?”

“Nice and wriggly,” said the hostess.

“Did she saay, ‘wriggly’?” asked Twig.

“Yes, Lieutenant,” said Kahra evenly.

“Wall, bring ‘em on,” he said bravely.

The group was quickly seated at a long kidney table that curled around a warm fire that added to the Klingon ambience. They all sat facing the crackling blaze. It was evident that Twig was trying to get a seat next to Kahra, who sat herself between the captain and Dr. Altara. So he maneuvered himself next to the captain who told him coolly, “Lieutenant, I planned to sit next to Mr. Troi.”

Crestfallen, Twig moved down and Trevor said, “I planned to sit on the other side of Mr. Troi.” So Twig glumly sat down next to the doctor, only to brighten when he realized he was that much closer to Kahra.

As the waitress poured them water and took their orders, James turned to Amanda, “So, Captain, please tell me more about the Asimov. I saw several ships docked outside and I am curious about it. You indicated space was a premium, so I am assuming it is not very large.”

“No, Mr. Troi,” said Twig, “she ain’t big, but that lady is fast like white lightnen‘!”

Kahra glared at Twig, “At the rank of lieutenant junior grade, you do realize you are the most junior officer here!”

Twig murmured, “I’m sorry, I’m jus‘ so proud of the gal. An I know I keep messin‘ up. I mus‘ be so aggrevatin‘ to y’all.”

“I can’t fault your enthusiasm,” smiled Amanda, “and I do appreciate your unconventional thinking.”

“Unconven what?” asked Twig.

“She means you don’t think like everyone else,” smiled the Dr. Altara, patting his hand reassuringly, “So you are able to come up with solutions to problems others wouldn’t think of.”

“And you are the only person from the engineering department at the moment,” nodded Amanda, “since Commander Gallagar is enjoying some quiet time there.”

“Yeah, or sleeping in our quarters,” said Twig.

James’ eyebrows nearly escaped from view, “You share quarters with Commander Gallagar?”

“That is what you get when you’re serving on such a small ship,” smiled Amanda, “not much privacy.”

“I share quarters with Lt. Reynolds,” said Trevor, “He is a nurse who works during a different shift from mine, so it works.”

“So Lieutenant Twig works in the same department as Commander Gallagar,” said James, “but surely different shifts, correct?”

“Naw, we work the same shift mos’ th‘ time,” said Twig, “but he finds ways te git away from me.”

A small grin formed on James’ face, “So, just how does he do that?”

“Oh,” Twig shrugged, “He gets hisself a bedroll and sleeps in a Jeffrey’s tube or access passage. Seein‘ that’s the way he gets ’round the ship (he duden’t like turbolifts), makes sense te him.”

James shook his head at this, continuing to smile, “So he gets around the Asimov almost entirely by access passages and Jeffrey’s tubes?”

“Yes,” smiled Amanda, “and yet he manages to get around faster than the rest of us.”

“Well,” a deep voice interjected, “I am the chief engineer! James, is that you? What are you doing here?” James quickly stood, the two embraced warmly and the group made room for Gallagar to sit down.

“I guess I don’t need to introduce you to Lieutenant Commander N’ka Gallagar, our chief engineer,” smiled Amanda.

“No, Captain,” said James and N’ka.

“Well, gooolly, it’s the Bobsey twins,” said Twig, “Gosh ya’ll are chummy.”

“I’m not an android all the time, Twig,” sighed N’ka.

In fact, N’ka and James did look very much alike, both being tall and had long thin faces and black Betazoid eyes, and dark hair. However, N’ka had a ruddy, battle-scarred complexion, rounded ears and eyebrows, was clean shaven, and wore a Starfleet engineer’s uniform with a Klingon sash.

“Goodness, Mr. Troi!” said Amanda, “It didn’t even register to me that you look so much like N’ka. I don’t know why I didn’t see it before.”

“I figure it’s ’cause Commander Gallagar here is as scarce as hens teeth, Cap’n, no offense, sir,” said Twig, “I see more o’ him than rest of y’all, an’ that’s not much as it is.”

“True,” N’ka admitted, “But, James, what are you doing here?”

“Ah, pardon me,” James nodded respectfully, “I have signed on as the Asimov‘s new chief science officer and ship’s counselor.”

“Excellent! That’s what I’d hoped,” N’ka smiled, “You got a wonderful two-for-one deal, Captain. James is the finest Starfleet officer I know.”

“I take it you know from experience, Commander. Where did you serve together?” asked Amanda.

N’ka and James looked at each other and N’ka cleared his throat, “Well, we didn’t actually serve together. We’ve known each other fifty years but in all that time we have never been assigned with each other.”

“Fifty years!” exclaimed Twig, “What are y’all, couzins?”

Both men burst into laughter and when they recovered, Gallagar said, “Very good, Twig. Actually James and I are second cousins, on our Betazoid side, of course.”

“Surprise, surprise, the cap’n and I are couzins, too,” exclaimed Twig, “I guess we gots a family affair!”

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